(Missed) Chance
by DolbyDigital
Summary: Maybe she'd made a mistake? Maybe if she went back and apologised, everything would be okay.


**A/N —** I'm not sure how well this worked, but I just wanted to experiment with the order. And, because I doubt it was clear, the interlude happens in the large (in comparison to the rest of the fic) span of time between part vii and epilogue i.

* * *

 _It's not over tonight_

 _Just give me one more chance to make it right_

.oOo.

Epilogue ii

Emmeline sat in the back row; she didn't know anyone there — not anymore, not really — and so found herself surrounded by Lily's distant relatives. The people Lily's parents would have forced her to invite, even if she'd only met them the once and didn't quite remember their names or faces. Emmeline felt she fit in well here.

Forgotten. A relic of the past. She shouldn't have come, she knew that now. She'd known then, too, but that hadn't stopped her from checking the little box marked yes and sending back her reply.

.oOo.

 _I may not make it through the night_

 _I won't go home without you_

.oOo.

Part v

"James, this isn't working," she said quietly. Admittedly, she hadn't picked her moment well. James was sitting with his friends in the Common Room, laughing about their next Great Scheme, as Black had taken to calling their little pranks. He looked up, the smile dropping from his face.

"Emm, can we talk later?" he asked, and she felt her heart fall. She never came first with him.

"No, James. I'm done talking," she snapped, turning quickly and storming from the room.

She found herself lost somewhere on the third floor, tears staining her cheeks, unsure what to do. Maybe she'd made a mistake? Maybe if she went back and apologised, everything would be okay.

.oOo.

Part i

 _"_ _Hey, Emm!" She jumped at his sudden appearance, nearly spilling her ink. "D'you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Potter asked._

 _"_ _It's not a Hogsmeade weekend," she said, looking up at him._

 _"_ _I didn't say_ this _weekend." He rolled his eyes, and she could see his friends giggling by the door. Now that she thought about it, she didn't think any of them actually took Ancient Runes._

 _"_ _C'mon, mate," Black called. "She rejected you. Save yourself some dignity and leave."_

 _"_ _She did not!" Potter shouted, but turned quickly back to face her. "You didn't, did you?" he asked. She exhaled slowly._

 _"_ _No," she said. "But you have to take me to Madam Puddifoots." She'd always hated the look of the place, but she'd never actually been. Besides, she wanted to see his reaction._

 _"_ _Sure," he said with a grin. He was out of the room before she could say anything else, and his friends were left to run after him._

.oOo.

Part vi

"You're out after– Oh, Emmeline!" Lily stopped. "Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Y-yeah," Emmeline said, wiping her eyes and sniffing loudly.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked, taking a step closer and using the light of her wand to get a closer look at Emmeline. "You don't look overly okay."

"I'm fine," Emmeline snapped, glaring at Lily. Lily lowered her wand slightly.

"Oh. Okay," she said. "You should probably get back to the Common Room soon. If anyone else found you out after curfew they'd take points."

Emmeline nodded, already turning.

"Oh, and Emmeline?" Lily called, before she could leave. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here."

.oOo.

Part ii

 _"_ _Emmeline, are you coming?" Lily called. Her friends were already waiting outside the portrait hole, but Emmeline had arranged to meet James in the Common Room so they could walk down together._

 _"_ _No, I– I'm going with someone else," she said, smiling apologetically._

 _"_ _Oh? You've got a date?" Lily grinned. "Why didn't you tell us? Who is he?"_

 _"_ _Is he attractive?" Marlene asked._

 _"_ _Is it that Hufflepuff boy from the year above?" Dorcas asked._

 _"_ _There's lot's of boys in–" Marlene turned to face Dorcas, frowning._

 _"_ _You know who I mean," Dorcas snapped._

 _"_ _It's not Black, is it?" Lily groaned._

 _"_ _Merlin, no!" Marlene said. "And this is exactly why I didn't tell you."_

.oOo.

Part vii

"Do you ever just–" Emmeline began. Lily looked up from her essay, frowning. "Never-mind," she muttered.

"No, what is it?" Lily asked.

"I just– Do you ever regret something — like a decision or something — but know that there's no way you can fix it?" Emmeline blurted. Lily took a moment to think before answering.

"Why can't you fix it?" Lily asked carefully, setting her essay and quill to the side.

"I just– I can't." Emmeline shook her head, afraid of Lily's answer. "Never-mind. It's stupid, anyway."

"I kind of– Okay, so you know Potter used to always ask me out?" Lily asked. Emmeline nodded slowly, schooling her features. "Well, he stopped for ages, and I started to regret constantly saying no, and I thought there was no way I could fix it, but then–"

Emmeline nodded, backing away.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, thanks." She smiled, but it felt a little forced. "That helps, Lily."

.oOo.

Part iii

 _"_ _So…" James looked around sceptically. "You like it here?" he asked hesitantly._

 _"_ _Oh, yes," she gushed. "It's so romantic, don't you think?" She smiled sweetly, batting her lashes._

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah. 'Course," he said quickly, nodding. "It's really… very…_ pink _," he said. She cackled —_

 _there was really no other way to describe it, and it was actually a little embarrassing. James blinked slowly, staring at her in surprise. "Do you– Do you want some water?" he asked hesitantly._

 _"_ _Three Broomsticks?" she asked, wiping tears from her eyes._

.oOo.

Part viii

"Aren't you coming?" Dorcas asked, frowning over at Emmeline. She hadn't even bothered to get out of bed yet.

"No," she said, rolling her head to face her friends.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"Yeah." She sighed. "Hogsmeade's kinda lost it's appeal," she muttered.

.oOo.

Part iv

 _"_ _That was fun," he said grinning, before faltering slightly. "I mean, I thought it was fun. Did you–"_

 _"_ _Yes, James." She smiled. "I had fun." His grin was back — though not so much a grin; perhaps a little too soft for that. He leant forward, and she knew he was going to kiss her._

.oOo.

Epilogue i

The incessant tapping on her bedroom window wasn't so much what woke her up as her protesting bladder, but she opened the window on her way past. The owl was quite persistent, though, and followed her into the bathroom.

She had to untie the letter from the creatures leg and read it all while sitting on the loo, and the blasted thing wouldn't leave even then.

"Well, you're going to have to wait," she snapped. "I wasn't exactly prepared to be catching up on my correspondence." The owl started at her, unperturbed. "I was unready for this," she reiterated, and she meant the words in more ways than one.

.oOo.

 _Of all the things I felt but never really shown_

 _Perhaps the worst is that I ever let you go_

.oOo.

Interlude

"Emmeline?" Marlene asked carefully.

"Yeah?"

"D'you– Do you ever wonder why you're still not over that guy?" she asked hesitantly. Emmeline looked over then.

"What guy?" she said slowly.

"I don't know who he was. I mean, I could guess, but you never told us– It's just… I don't think you guys dated for very long," she stammered.

"We didn't."

"So, why d'you…" Marlene trailed off, making an aborted gesture that Emmeline couldn't quite interpret, though she knew what her friend wasn't saying.

"I think it's because… because I never really gave him a chance."


End file.
